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"feudal lord of Tierra del Fuego". At the age of 17 he left his father’s home and moved to Paris to study engineering. French was well spoken among the Rumanian intellectual circles and was fluently spoken by Julius. He was aware of the fact that being a Jew he would have a tough time and be submitted to constant humiliations if he entered Bucharest’s Polytechnic University. As if his energy needed to break loose, after he graduated, his romantic thirst of adventure led him to look for new horizons and better winds than those of his homeland. He had now started a life of travelling and exploration. In the first place, he visited Constantinople – the access
door to the orient – moving on to Egypt and its desert, where
the monuments eternalize history. He then moved on to Japan, China,
India, Siberia, New Orleans, Cuba, Mexico and Brazil. It is there
that he finds out about the ".. gold deposits found a few yards
away from the Strait of Magellan"... These news would change
the course of his life. The unknown and wild region would become
the most interesting place on Earth for him. Julius Popper –
like Cortéz and Pizarro before him – dreamt of conquering
the hidden riches and decided to travel to Buenos Aires. At this
time, he was only 28 years old. Julius – a mixture of adventurer and discoverer, engineer and businessman, inventor and writer, traveler and scientist – reached Buenos Aires drawn by the gold rush. During 1885, he draws attention in Buenos Aires. He had and astonishing easiness to establish relationships with the most prominent characters of Buenos Aires’ ruling class. His Parisian intellect, his Spanish knowledge and imposing stance, were a key asset to establishing the relationships. It is still considered amazing the amount of political trust placed in his hands, as well as the confidence and affection he inspired in the Argentine ruling class. Soon, he expanded his circle of influence and gained support for his main business ventures. Among these was the Tierra del Fuego Development Company |
which awakened the interest of the Argentine Geographers. It is
important to mention that during this period Tierra del Fuego had
few white settlers whom – with the exception of Thomas Bridges
– were constantly at war with the indians. Popper is able to recruit an expeditionary group of 50 men - mostly
Austrians - supported by the Southern Gold-bearing Company. He and
his Austrian expedition landed on the coasts of Tierra del Fuego
at the end of 1885, and within two weeks their work was rewarded
with success. The news of Popper having found 400 lbs. of gold spreads
throughout Argentina. He is immediately harassed by low life adventurers,
outlaws and fugitive criminals that want to run the city of El Paramo,
founded by Popper. The wild conquistador was able to rid himself
of these unwanted characters by means of a curious strategy. He
built scarecrows and dressed them in uniforms, and then moved on
to the outlaws’ camp. When the outlaws refused to return the
stolen gold they were suddenly confronted by the "imperial
horsemen", wreaking havoc among them. After these events took
place, he minted his own currency and surrounded himself with a
personal guard mostly made up of Austrians. |
